


My Pride, My Soul

by kaibasetos



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 10:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6002596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaibasetos/pseuds/kaibasetos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaiba narrows his eyes. He couldn’t possibly have the cards in his hand or even in his deck to pull off a win. He’s bluffing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My Pride, My Soul

**Author's Note:**

> [[Valentine's Day Fic Bash 2016](http://kaibacorpking.tumblr.com/private/139289273480/tumblr_o2jex0gLDG1uy32l2)]
> 
> This is another very old fic, albeit not quite as old as Synapse. I want to say this one is nearly a year old, if not a year old proper. It was created thanks to someone on my old, inactive blog -- I believe someone anonymous, but if you're reading this by any chance, feel free to let me know who you were -- who sent me a message prompting me to write about Kaiba and Jounouchi having to pair off for a duel. I just loved that concept and I think, to date, this is probably still the only Duel Monsters-centric fic I've ever written for them. Whoops. Anyway, this is set... Sometime during Battle City, I suppose, and I hope y'all enjoy!

Kaiba’s eyes are hard and unforgiving when they land upon the two Ghouls on the opposite end of their playing field, his lip curled up in a distasteful sneer. Jounouchi is by his side, too close for comfort even so many feet away, grinning like a feral creature baring its teeth and leaning in a stance that threatens physical attack rather than dueling prowess. Kaiba really doesn’t know how he always lands himself in these situations. He has far more important things to be doing than wasting time with this meaningless duel.

“What’s the matter, Kaiba? Is that… Terror I see in your eyes?” One of the Ghouls starts cackling after he crows the words, and Kaiba’s sneer melts into a low, condescending laugh. He extends his arm, allowing his Duel Disk to flip out and activate, the lights flickering on and displaying his Life Point counter.

“Your eyesight must be horribly off. Only a fool would be afraid of this challenge,” Kaiba responds suavely, and it instills the utmost pleasure in him to see the way the Ghoul’s face falls into a scowl in response. Still… His gaze wanders briefly over to Jounouchi. Jounouchi, looking every bit prepared to rip out his opponents’ throats with his bare hands. Kaiba detests the very principle of teamwork, and he’s well aware of the way Jounouchi duels: playing with brute strength and luck, relying on aggression and games of chance to guarantee his victory. Their styles are anything but compatible. He could lose this duel based on that fact alone.

Kaiba squares his shoulders, looking away from Jounouchi and towards his opponents instead -- towards his future. He won’t. He can’t lose. Not here, not now or ever. No matter who his partner may be, he will win on his skill and his alone.

“C’mon, Kaiba!” Jounouchi yells. Kaiba faintly hears the sounds of his Duel Disk activating as well. “We’ve got these goons, let’s thrash ‘em!”

“Don’t get in my way, Jounouchi,” Kaiba replies with acid on his tongue. “And don’t operate under the assumption that we function as a team simply because we’re both standing on the same side of this field. I don’t--”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jounouchi interrupts, and Kaiba glances over to see him rolling his eyes exaggeratedly but still grinning. That vibrant grin, like a sun shower, self-assured and enthusiastic. “You don’t play well with others, I got it. I’ll thrash ‘em myself if you wanna play it like that.”

Kaiba visibly bristles and opens his mouth to respond, but the other Ghoul interrupts, his voice mirthful. “Are we going to stand here all day watching you two argue, or are we going to get down to business?”

Kaiba glares the offender down, power swelling through the hard line of his spine at the echo of those words. Business it is, then. He holds up the arm with his Duel Disk and stands as tall as he can make himself, his posture arrogant, his chin tilted up. “Let’s get this over with. Duel!”

[***]

Kaiba’s breathing is harsh and tight, sounding as though every inhale is causing him pain. His eyes move apprehensively between their side of the field and their opponents’. With one of the Ghouls already out of the picture and Obelisk in his hand, he has victory in his grasp if he can last through just one more turn. However, with his Life Points depleted and their opponents’ monster more powerful than those he has on the field, the odds don’t seem to be in their favor. He has no Trap Cards to protect him, and he still needs one more sacrifice to complete the ritual of summoning his most deadly weapon.

Jounouchi, with 200 Life Points remaining and only Little Wing-Guard left on his side of the field, isn’t helping matters.

“So how does it feel, Kaiba?” The Ghoul is saying, a disdainful smile on his face. “How does it feel to know that in just one more attack, you’ll have lost in your own tournament and turned over your God card to us?”

Kaiba doesn’t respond aside from flashing a bitter face and hissing through his teeth. He runs desperately through all of the options he can sort out in his mind, but none present themselves as a surefire method to win. There’s really no chance, not with the cards he has. He tastes an unfamiliar flavor in his mouth -- fear.

“Well, I see the famous Kaiba Seto has run his repertoire of pompous words dry,” the Ghoul comments, and out of the corner of his eye Kaiba can see Jounouchi’s entire body stiffen up and start to tremble, seemingly out of anger. “I suppose if you have nothing left to say for yourself, the only thing left to do is issue my attack on--”

Beside Kaiba, Jounouchi starts to laugh, and both Kaiba and the Ghoul turn their attention to him instead in the wake of the sound. It’s loud and pitying, filling the field with its volume. He’s actually doubled over with his laughter, and it takes a moment before he straightens up and wipes tears from the corners of his eyes, his expression one of pure amusement.

“You sure you really wanna do that?”

Kaiba furrows his brow in confusion at Jounouchi’s question. Attacking him is the most obvious and most efficient move. What kind of game is he playing at?

“What do you mean, am I _sure_?” The Ghoul responds with irritation evident in his tone, and judging by the look on his face, he’s just as puzzled.

Jounouchi shrugs a shoulder, his stance now drained of the tension Kaiba had seen -- perhaps imagined -- a moment ago, lax and confident. “I’m just makin’ sure that leavin’ me in the game is _really_ the move you wanna make right now, that’s all. By all means, go right ahead and take Kaiba out if you’re _certain_ that’s what you wanna do.” He punctuates his statement with a surreptitious glance down at his hand and a smirk, and Kaiba narrows his eyes. He couldn’t possibly have the cards in his hand or even in his deck to pull off a win. He’s bluffing.

The Ghoul doesn’t know Jounouchi’s strategy as well as he does, though.

The Ghoul seems to be deliberating for a while, his eyes flicking skeptically back and forth between Jounouchi and Kaiba, before he finally speaks. “It doesn’t really matter which order I eliminate you in, you’ll both be falling before this duel is through. So if you’re really so eager to be defeated…” He raises his hand, directing his monster’s attention to Jounouchi’s Little Wing-Guard. “Attack!”

There’s a brilliant flash of light as the powerful attack descends, and Kaiba hears Jounouchi shout in pain when it lands and his Life Points trickle down to zero. The sound makes something clench tight in his chest, curls his fingers, fuels anger burning bright in his eyes. It makes him want to hurt. It makes him want to destroy.

When the smoke clears, Jounouchi is barely standing. He’s breathing heavily with his hands on his knees, appearing shaken, but once he starts to catch his breath he looks up at Kaiba to give him a wink and a thumbs up.

Immediately, Kaiba knows what he’s trying to communicate. He _meant_ to be taken out. He bluffed to give Kaiba the opportunity to win. The thought is reckless, but then, when has Jounouchi ever been anything else?

Kaiba feels that power flowing through him again, glorious and brilliant, godlike. It’s personal this time. The Ghoul is laughing at Jounouchi’s fall, but he won’t be for long.

Kaiba’s voice is steel and doom.

“I’m afraid you just sealed your fate with that move.”

[***]

In the aftermath, after the Ghouls have skittered like cowards back into the shadows to avoid Kaiba’s fury, Jounouchi walks over to Kaiba. There’s a slight limp in his step, and Kaiba feels that twist in his chest again.

“Knew you’d win,” Jounouchi says, beaming. He claps Kaiba on the shoulder and Kaiba instinctively grabs his wrist, glaring down to meet his eyes. He can feel Jounouchi’s pulse jumping against his skin and there’s something strange stirring in him that suggests he’s _happy_ to feel it there. He brushes it off as he would any other nuisance, but it makes its home in his stomach and his wrists anyway.

“That move was utterly foolish. A True Duelist would never sacrifice his own victory for the sake of another’s,” Kaiba scolds him evenly, and Jounouchi rolls his eyes again.

“Cut the high-and-mighy shit, Kaiba, I just saved you back there.”

“You did nothing of the sort. I would’ve won with or without your so-called help.”

Jounouchi looks at him with narrowed eyes, and Kaiba feels an uncomfortable prickling across his skin that tells him Jounouchi knows he’s lying through his teeth.

“Are the words ‘thank you’ just not a part of your vocabulary or somethin’?” Jounouchi asks, his voice lowering in volume with every word until he’s grumbling. His fingers clench in the fabric of Kaiba’s jacket and Kaiba is suddenly all too aware of how much they’re touching. Inches of skin feel like miles, but his grip is iron still. They stare each other down, neither of them willing to give in, until Kaiba pushes Jounouchi’s hand off of him and turns to walk away.

He stops, just for a moment, to look back over his shoulder.

“Thank you.”

As he continues walking, he swears he can almost feel Jounouchi start to smile.


End file.
